Imawano Ghost File
by Champster
Summary: While on a case involving the return of an evil spirit, Yusuke comes fist to fist with Batsu, who is being accused of attacking Yusuke's friend Keiko. Unbeknownst to both of them, the biggest threat, Kurow Kirishima, has only just begun his plans to take over Japan.
1. Dark Beginnings

**Dark Beginnings**

Within the Japanese city known as Aoharu City, incidents involving numerous high school students and their staffs have occurred. These incidents have sparked a rivalry between the schools, leading to numerous fights but in the end, friendship and justice prevail. The students would stand together to put an end to any threats to their schools.

One of these schools, Taiyo High, is known as "The High School That Loves Freedom". This carefree school seems like the kind of school any student would love to attend…but it's also been the victim of certain incidents, along with the other local schools.

And it's in Taiyo High where a new battle is about to begin, starting in the early hours of the day.

Laying on the floor in one of the classrooms, a large, older man looks up at his opponent who had just defeated him in battle.

"How…how could this be?" said the old man. He looks up at his younger enemy who has white hair and long claws.

"Hehehe! Old and slow," said the younger man. "You call yourself the head of the Imawano family? You are a disgrace, Raizo!"

"Why…why did the Darkside Student Congress send you?" asked Raizo.

"It's simple; you, Hyo, Kyosuke, and Batsu are the biggest threats to them. They sent me here to eliminate all four of you. But don't worry, for I have no intention of doing their dirty work. I have my own plans." The younger man raises his fist and says "I will take over Japan. Soon, everyone will bow to me Kurow Kirishima." He then looks at Raizo and said "That is why I let you live for now, as you could be useful for me in the future."

During that moment, another younger man, with long white hair and a sword walks in the classroom.

"That's quite an accomplishment that you're trying to achieve," said the other person. "Do you really believe that you're capable of pulling it off?"

Kurow turns to face the other person. "Hyo? What an unexpected surprise!"

"Trying to take over Japan will be a very difficult task," said Hyo. "The power of friendship runs very strong at these schools and it will be unwise to underestimate it."

"The power of friendship?" said Kurow. "Don't make me laugh. No such 'power' will ever stop my plans. You will find out soon enough."

Hyo pulls out his sword and gets in fighting position. Kurow smirks at the challenge.

"It seems that you are willing to find out the hard way," said Kurow as he gets in his own fighting stance. "Very well, Hyo."

The two clash in an epic battle.

**Later that day**

Standing right outside of the school known as Sarayashiki Jr. High, one of its students, Yusuke Urameshi, thinks a lot about his fights at the Dark Tournament, including his fight against Toguro, the strongest opponent he has ever fought at that point. He now begins to wonder if there's anything else worth his time in the world.

"Toguro was the strongest opponent I ever faced," he said to himself. "Maybe in the world. So, if I beat him…then what else is left for me to worry about? There's no one else who could possibly be as tough as him. At this point, I might as well go back to school. That seems to be more of a challenge at the moment."

At that moment, the bell rung to signal the end of school for that day. Yusuke could see the kids walking about out of the building. One of them is his childhood friend Keiko Yukimura and the other his rival-turned-best friend Kazuma Kuwabara.

"Oh great!" he said to himself. "Just my luck; Keiko is going to chew my ear off for not being in class again."

While talking to her friend, Keiko looks and sees Yusuke standing on the sidewalk in front of the school.

"Yusuke?" she said.

Kuwabara, while talking to his own friends, also notices Yusuke as well.

"Urameshi?" he asked. "What the heck is he doing right here next to school? You'd think he'd be as far away as possible since he hates it so much."

Keiko, also confused, walks up to Yusuke and says "Why were you hanging around here? Were you thinking about coming to school today or something?"

"Oh, come on, Keiko!" said Yusuke. "You know how much I hate school. Why would I want to come today?"

"Well, you're still in a school uniform and I don't think you want to stay in Jr. High for the rest of your life."

"Nah, I think Urameshi likes being at this school," said Kuwabara. "He thinks being a dummy is a good way to stay here anytime he wants."

"Oh, really, Kuwabara?" said Yusuke. "After beating up my fists with your head so many times, it's a wonder that you even know how to use your brain."

"Hey, that was a long time ago! I can take you on any day now, Urameshi!"

"Guys, really now?" asked Keiko. She looks at Yusuke. "I was really hoping you would finally grow up, Yusuke. Education is very important."

"Yeah, whatever…" said Yusuke. "I've heard that so many times already."

"Hey, Kuwabara," said Okubo, one of Kuwabara's friends. "Let's head to the theaters. I heard that there's this new scary movie that they're showing."

"Yeah, that sounds cool!" said an excited Kuwabara. "Maybe once we're finished, we can head to the arcades before it gets too late."

"Well now that school is over, I better get home now," says Keiko as she walks away. "I'm going to do my homework because I actually do want to graduate."

During the conversation, the blue-haired reaper girl Botan, dressed as a schoolgirl, walks up to Yusuke.

"Yusuke, Kuwabara,…I'm glad I found the both of you together," she said. "This is very important."

Kuwabara, knowing that Botan showing up means that this must be serious, looks at his friends and says "Uh…you guys go to the theaters. I'll meet up with you later."

"Okay, then. See you there," said Okubo, as he leaves with the others.

"So, what is it, Botan," asked Yusuke.

"I just received news from Koenma that there is a dangerous spirit lurking somewhere around here in Japan," said Botan.

"A dangerous spirit?" said Kuwabara.

"How dangerous are we speaking here?" asked Yusuke.

"So dangerous that it puts everybody's life in danger if it's unleashed," said Botan. "This is the spirit of Imawano."

"'Imawano'?" asked Yusuke.

"Who the heck is Imawano"? asked Kuwabara.

"I don't have all the details yet," said Botan. "All I know is that he's the spirit of a deceased warrior who wants to take over the world. He's lurking somewhere here in Japan."

Despite how serious this news seems to be, Yusuke doesn't appear to be interested and turns around as if to walk away.

"Sorry but there's no way this Imawano spirit is any more dangerous than Toguro and you see what I did to him," he said. "Hey Kuwabara, how about filling in for me today and take out this spirit on your own?"

"What?" said Kuwabara. "Are you crazy? I'm not doing your dirty work for you just because you're lazy!"

"Now Yusuke, you know that as Spirit Detective, it is your job to stop these beings!" said Botan. "Don't think that you're too good for it just because you beat Toguro!"

But Yusuke refuses to listen and walks away, saying "Well if you want this to be done so much, then go find Kurama and Hiei."

Kuwabara and Botan watches as Yusuke walks off, angry at his seemingly cocky attitude.

"Great!" said Kuwabara. "Now he thinks he's the stuff just because he beat Toguro. Who's going to convince him now?"

"Well I guess we have no choice but to get Keiko to do it," said Botan. "He listens to her more than anybody else."

"Have you already told Hiei and Kurama?" asked Kuwabara.

"Not yet. I'd be lucky to find Hiei but Kurama should be easy to find. In the meantime, Kuwabara, you might want to make sure that your friends are safe. Since we don't know exactly where this spirit is right now, it means that he could be anywhere and we don't even know it. See you later!" said Botan as she runs off.

"Oh…well okay then," said Kuwabara as he runs to catch up with his friends.

Meanwhile, as Keiko continues to walk home, she walks a past a teenaged boy in a blue schoolboy uniform. Although she pays him no attention, it is not until he starts to talk that she finally stops walking.

"You must be quite fearless to be walking these streets by yourself…Keiko," said the boy.

"Huh?" said a nervous Keiko. "Do I…know you? How do you know my name?"

The boy chuckles and says "You may not know me already but don't worry. You will know me soon enough. Real soon, Keiko!"

Without warning, the boy raises his fist and punches Keiko in the face, knocking her down. He then walks up to Keiko and grabs her up by her hair. He then starts punching her in the stomach with so much force that it lifts her into the air.

With Keiko bleeding from the mouth and barely conscious, the boy walks up to her and places his foot on her head, saying "You want to know who I am, don't you? Fine. My name…is Batsu! Batsu Ichimonji." He then kneels down and says "Now say my name."

However, Keiko, who is so much pain and barely conscious, is unable to respond.

"Say my name!" the boy repeats. "SAY MY NAME!"

At that point, Botan shows up at the scene. She stands terrified at what she sees in front of her.

"Keiko!" she screams. He looks at the badly injured Keiko and then looks at the boy. "You leave her alone, you creep!" she angrily yells.

The boy looks at Botan and says "Feel free to do something about it."

Despite her anger, Botan knows that there's nothing she can do about it. She stands helpless as she looks at her friend on the ground. Suddenly, she sees Keiko's eyes slowly opening up. Botan calls out Keiko's name let her know that she's here.

"Bo…Bo…Botan…" she barely says.

The boy then looks back down at Keiko and says "I told you to say MY name!" He then kicks Keiko in the abdomen, knocking her up against the wall, which renders her unconscious.

"KEIKO!" yells Botan. Finally, having seen enough, Botan attempts to attack the boy but gets knocked down with a hard slap to the face.

"Now it's your turn to know who I am," said the boy. "My name is Batsu Ichimonji. I come from Taiyo High School. Make sure that you tell your friends about me. All of them, including Yusuke."

"What?" said Botan. "How do you know about him?"

"That doesn't matter. What matters is that you know about me, the one who beat up his friend. So, if you want Yusuke to do something about it, then tell him who I am and see if he has the guts to face me. Now, I'll be on my way and don't you forget."

The boy walks away laughing like a maniac as Botan rushes to Keiko's aid. Cradling her in her arms, Botan says "Don't worry, Keiko. He's gone now. We've got to get you some help and tell Yusuke about this."

However, Keiko loses consciousness before she can say anything.

A little while later, Yusuke is busy playing the arcade games when suddenly he sees Botan running towards him.

"Yusuke…" she says as she tries to catch her breath.

"Damn, Botan," he said. "Let me guess; Jr. is throwing a tantrum and now he needs a new pacifier?"

"It's not that, Yusuke! Keiko has just been attacked!"

Within just a few seconds after those words, Yusuke quickly stands up out of his seat.

"She's just been WHAT?" Yusuke yelled.

In almost no time, Yusuke and Botan head straight to Keiko's apartment where she lays in bed, being seen to by her parents. By now, Keiko is slowly recovering and is therefore conscious by the time they arrive.

"Hey, it's Yusuke," said Keiko's father.

"Yusuke?" she says. "You're here."

"Keiko…are you okay?" asked Yusuke.

"Yes," said Keiko. "I'm feeling better now. Botan brought me here and now my parents are taking care of me."

Yusuke sighs in relief knowing that Keiko is feeling better. "What happened to you? Who did this?"

"It was this boy named Batsu. Batsu Ichimonji. He wore a blue school uniform and he's from Taiyo High School. He attacked me but…I don't know why."

"'Batsu Ichimonji'?" asked Yusuke.

"Do you know who he is, Yusuke?" asked Botan.

"No, I've never heard of him."

"But he knows you. He mentioned your name."

"Well, it doesn't matter because one thing he doesn't know is that messing with my friends means that he'll get the ass beating of his life!" yelled Yusuke as he gets up to leave.

"Yusuke, where are you going?" asked Botan.

"Nobody ever touches Keiko and get away with it, so I'm going to make sure I kick his ass today! I don't care if I don't get any rest, that jerk is going to pay for he did!" He then looks back at Keiko and says "Don't worry, Keiko! I'll find him!"

"But Yusuke, what about your mission?" said Botan. But Yusuke doesn't hear her as he's already running out of the door.

"'Mission'?" asked Keiko. "What do you mean by 'mission'?"

"Umm, I mean…his homework is his mission," said Botan as she tries to be careful around Keiko's parents. "Yeah, that's what I meant." To avoid having to explain everything, Botan quickly gets up and leaves the room herself to follow Yusuke.

As he continues to run, Yusuke remembers everything he was just told about Batsu by Keiko and Botan. For him, this is war.

To Be Continued


	2. Attack at Taiyo High School

**Attack at Taiyo High School**

After Keiko was attacked by a teenaged boy, Yusuke has made it his intention to track down her attacker. Although Botan has already told him what his mission is supposed to be, which is the find the dark spirit known only as Imawano, Yusuke doesn't care about that right now. All he wants to do is find the boy known as Batsu Ichimonji.

Batsu is a student who started attending Taiyo High School the previous year due to a mysterious incident that caused him to switch schools. It is at this school where he became friends with his classmates, such as the cheerful, energetic Hinata Wakaba and the quiet, yet highly intelligent Kyosuke Kagami.

Earlier this day before Keiko's attack, there was to be a special afterschool event called the Taiyo Pacific Athletic Competition. However, a schuffle breaks out between the students of Taiyo High and Pacific High, which causes the event to end early.

"What's with those guys"? said Batsu. "Why would they start trouble with us like that?"

"This is horrible!" said Hinata. "How could they do such a thing?"

"We should probably ask one of the students," said Kyosuke. "Perhaps Boman may know something."

Before they can begin their investigation, they are approached by the sinister Kurow Kirishima.

"Greetings, Batsu Ichimonji and Kyosuke Kagami," said Kurow.

"What the…? Who the heck are you?" asked Batsu. "And how do you know our names?"

Kurow laughs. "Confused? Don't worry! Perhaps your friend Daigo can help you out."

"Daigo?" asked Batsu.

The huge, muscular man Daigo Kazama steps forward from behind Kurow.

"Daigo?" asked Hinata. "Is something wrong?"

Without warning, Daigo attacks the trio, throwing a powerful punch at Batsu. It's block, the force of the punch sends Batsu back a few feet.

"Hey, what's wrong with you, Daigo?!" said yelled Batsu. However, Daigo doesn't say anything and continues his attack on the three students. Just as Daigo lunges for another attack, Hinata trips his leg, causing him to fall. After Daigo gets up, Hinata once again attempts to attack Daigo but is knocked away from a sweeping punch. Batsu begins his own attack, but Daigo lands powerful kick to Batsu stomach, knocking him down. Daigo again lunges at Batsu but is interrupted once again, this time by Kyosuke's summersault kick. This attack stuns Daigo long enough for Batsu to quickly get up and land one of his own devastating attacks.

"Guts Upper!" said Batsu as he lands fiery uppercut to Daigo's chin, knocking him down.

As Daigo slowly gets up, the three young fighters each gather enough energy in their fists for one more attack.

"Now!" yelled Batsu. All three run forward, landing their punches on Daigo which sends him flying a long way backwards.

But even with an attack that strong, Daigo gets back up like nothing happen, much to the fighters' horror.

"What the…?" said Batsu.

"Hahaha!" laughed Kurow. "Is that really all you got? I expected more of the Imawano family! You're pathetic!"

"Shut up!" yelled Batsu. "Who the hell are you? And what do you want?"

"No need to be hasty," said Kurow. "You will get your answers later but, in the meantime, I have some work to do. And you…just try to stay alive. Hahaha!"

Kurow and Daigo leave the area.

"What was that all about!" said Hinata. "Why would Daigo attack us like that? He never even said a word."

"I don't know who that guy is," said Kyosuke. "But he's definitely up to no good. How does he know about the Imawano clan?"

"First the Pacific High incident, now this. What will happen next?" said Batsu.

The trio later find Boman Delgado, one of the students of Pacific High. Boman tells him that he knows nothing about the scuffle at Taiyo High.

"So, you're saying that someone else caused that scuffle and you had nothing to do with it?" asked Batsu.

"Yes," said Boman. "That strange man you just saw may have had something to do with that. I'll go and make sure to clear our names on this."

"Good luck, Boman," said Kyosuke.

As Boman leaves, the trio began to conduct their own investigation to uncover some facts.

By this time, Yusuke has begun looking for Batsu, while Botan has continued to follow him, trying to get him to stay focused on his mission. After running for a while, Yusuke finally stop just a few blocks away from Taiyo High School.

"Yusuke…" said Botan, as she hunches over, trying to catch her breath. "I told you that you have to find that spirit! Do you know how many lives are in danger?"

"I heard what you said Botan but I've never let anybody get away with attacking my friends and I'm sure as hell not about to start now," said Yusuke.

At that point, Yusuke looks and sees Batsu and his friends. He notices that Batsu fits the description he was told by both Keiko and Botan.

"Hey, is that him, Botan?" said Yusuke as he points.

"Yes, that's him!" said Botan as she stands up straight. "That's the one who attacked Keiko!"

"Good!" said Yusuke. "This is just a little after-school knuckle bashing, Botan. It won't take long."

"Oh, brother!" said Botan. "Maybe if we get this out of the way, we can finally get to the real problem."

Yusuke approaches Batsu, Hinata, and Kyosuke.

"Hey you!" said Yusuke. "Batsu Ichimonji, am I right?"

"Huh?" said Batsu. "What the heck…? Now how do _you_ know my name?"

"Again?" said Kyosuke. "This is just bizarre. There's no way this is all just a coincidence."

"Is something wrong?" asked Hinata. "You look upset about something."

"Yes, I am!" said Yusuke. "My friend Keiko was just attacked by somebody and she told me that his name was Batsu Ichimonji!"

"What?" said Batsu. "That's impossible! I never attacked anybody!"

"Yes, that's right," said Hinata. "Batsu was with us this whole time. He couldn't have attacked your friend."

"Keiko told me both your name and your look and she would never lie to me like that," said Yusuke. "And neither would Botan," He then turns to Botan. "Hey Botan, this is the guy you saw, right?"

"Uhh…yeah," said Botan. "He said his name is Batsu and that he came from Taiyo High School."

"How…?" said Hinata.

"They know my name and my school," said Batsu. "This is just too weird!"

"And yet, you don't know anything about them, do you, Batsu?" asked Kyosuke.

"No, I don't have a clue. I've never met these guys before."

"I didn't see the others with him but I'm certain he was the one, Yusuke," said Botan.

"Well, if that's the case, then that's all I need to know," said Yusuke. "The name's Yusuke Urameshi and the school I come from is Sarayashiki Jr. High. Everybody at that school knows not to mess with me or my friends and you're about to find out why."

"Fine!" said Batsu. "I never back down from a fight against anybody! So, if I have to fight you to prove my innocence, then so be it!"

"Do you want us to help you out?" asked Hinata.

"No," said Batsu. "I'm the only one he wants, so that's all he's going to get."

"I understand," said Hinata. Kyosuke watches with great curiosity.

"Let's go!" said Yusuke. Botan watches with great concern.

To Be Continued.


	3. Yusuke vs Batsu

**Yusuke vs. Batsu**

After Keiko was viciously attacked by someone by the name of Batsu, Yusuke is now determined to find the alleged attacker. Batsu, meanwhile, has just had a bizarre encounter of his own with a man named Kurow Kirishima. After using Daigo to attack Batsu and his friends, Kurow flees, leaving the fighters confused.

But before they can find any answers, a confrontation between Yusuke and Batsu must be settled.

"Are you sure you don't want us to help you, Batsu?" asked Hinata.

"Don't worry, Hinata," said Batsu. "If this guy really wants a fight this bad, then I have no problem giving him one. Plus, I have to clear my name, no matter what."

"Yusuke, remember that we have to find that spirit," whispered Botan. "So, whatever you do, make it quick. You don't want to wait until it's too late."

"Fine, whatever," said Yusuke. "I'll end this in one punch, take the spirit out, and then I'll be home before bedtime."

The two stares at each other for a few seconds before Yusuke makes his move, as he runs towards Batsu with great speed to land a punch. However, Batsu, dodges the punch by jumping completely out of the way. Yusuke then follows up with a barrage of punches. The speed of these punches force Batsu to cover up to block them and eventually jumps away from them. Batsu then attempts to land a punch of his own but Yusuke dodges and, seeing an opening, counters with a punch to Batsu's face. The force of the punch sends Batsu quite some steps back. Yusuke then tries to follow up with more punches to go for the finish. However, he underestimate's Batsu's toughness and gets hit with solid uppercut to the chin as he rushes forward. This shot knocks Yusuke down, much to his surprise.

"Go ahead, keep pissing me off!" said Yusuke. He then rushes forward again, throwing more punches that are block until Batsu throws one himself. However, this time, Yusuke is unable to follow up on this as Batsu dodges Yusuke's counter This even fight impresses the spectators. Hinata and Kyosuke are impressed by how well a student from Saryashiki Jr. High fights while Botan is impressed by how this boy is giving someone as strong as Yusuke a fight.

After a brief exchange, the two separates for a moment. This fight was a lot tougher than either of them anticipated. Regardless, neither one of them are willing to give up and Yusuke makes that clear as he rushes forward again. Batsu, anticipating another punch, lifts his hands up to block it.

However, it's a fake. Suddenly, there are after-images of Yusuke all around Batsu, who is confused. Taking advantage of this, Yusuke lands a powerful punch to Batsu's body. He then lands a combination of more punches to the body before landing an uppercut to Batsu's chin, knocking him down. Yusuke looks at his downed opponent but soon realizes that the fight is far from over as Batsu gets right back up from the attack.

"Hey, I was giving you a chance to call it quits, you know?" said Yusuke.

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?!" said Batsu. "I never quit, especially when it comes to fighting for something!"

Batsu then begins to form a fiery aura around his fists. Yusuke can sense Batsu's spirit energy increasing, something he did not expect. The spectators can sense the fight heating up, getting potentially more dangerous as it goes on.

"Guts Upper!" yells Batsu, as he rushes forward with a powerful uppercut that knocks Yusuke into the air. This takes Yusuke totally by surprise, as he did not expect his opponent to have such energy. But Yusuke is still determined himself and quickly gets back up to his feet.

"Just to let you know, I've seen that done before!" said Yusuke. Using his own spirit energy, Yusuke charges forward with a powerful punch of his own that knocks Batsu to the ground. Once Batsu gets up, the two have a brief, yet violent exchange of powerful punches before backing off.

The spectators are mesmerized by what they're seeing. Kyosuke, Hinata, and Botan can do nothing but look in suspense.

"It's time to put an end to this!" said Batsu as his fists began glow with blue energy.

"Good, because I got one more surprise that I want to show you!" said Yusuke, as his index finger also begins to glow with blue energy.

"Botan!" yelled Koenma, whose voice can be heard through Botan's communication mirror. "What the heck is Yusuke doing?!"

The two fighters both gather enough power for an energy blast attack.

"**Gutts Bullet!**" yelled Batsu, as he thrusts his fists forward, shooting a blue energy attack.

"**Spirit Gun!**" yelled Yusuke, as he shoots a blue energy attack from his finger.

The powerful attacks clash before erupting in an explosion.

Both Yusuke and Batsu, despite breathing heavily, look more than ready to resume their fight. Yusuke is determined to avenge Keiko and Batsu is determined to fight for his name.

Having seen enough and fearing that it might get more dangerous, Botan finally steps in.

"Yusuke, that's enough!" said Botan as she runs up to him. "You shouldn't waste your energy when that spirit might be somewhere around here. We have to go!"

"I'm not done yet, Botan!" said Yusuke. "I"ve come to kick this guy's ass for what he did to Keiko and that's what I'm going to do."

"Listen, if that spirit is unleashed on the world, you may not ever get another shot at this guy," said Botan. "Let's do this first, then you can finish your fight with him later."

Yusuke looks at Botan as she leaves and then looks back at Batsu.

"Well, it looks like your lucky day, Batsu," said Yusuke. "I have to go take care some business right now but I promise we'll finish this one day. So, you better be ready for when that day comes." Yusuke then leaves to catch up with Botan.

Hinata and Kyosuke join up with Batsu.

"Is everything okay, Batsu?" asked Hinata.

However, Batsu just looks at his hands and say "I can't believe it! I wasn't able to beat him!"

"But you didn't lose," said Kyosuke. "That's a good thing, right?"

"What's the point?" said Batsu. "If I'm not strong enough to fight for myself, how can I fight for others?"

"Considering how he was fighting for his friend, I'm sure he was thinking the same thing."

"I say you did a great job in that fight, Batsu," said Hinata. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"No!" said Batsu. "I'm not strong enough right now! I need to get better with my skills and I will not fight again until I do!"

Batsu then runs off, leaving his two friends.

"Hey Batsu!" yelled Hinata, but her words are ignored and she and Kyosuke look in confusion.

To Be Continued.


	4. Daigo's Assault

**Daigo's Assault**

Batsu's fight with Yusuke ends with neither fighter coming out the winner. This causes Batsu to leave his friends while Yusuke begins his mission to find the ghost known only as Imawano. However, prior to that fight, Batsu, along with his friends Hinata and Kyosuke, were ambushed by Kurow and Daigo. While the mysterious Kurow is clearly up to no good, Daigo's attack was completely unexpected, as he was never considered an enemy to them. His strange behavior has raised some concerns from people who are close to him.

One of those people is his sister, Akira. She has been concerned about Daigo's behavior ever since he came back from his personal training journey and his seemingly random attacks on schools. Yurika, a fellow student from the all-girls Seijyun High School, agrees to help her in the investigation and together, they enlist a third person to help them, the powerful girl-gang leader Zaki.

"So, you've come to ask me for help, is that right?" asked Zaki.

"Yes," said Yurika. "I've heard a lot about. Your name is Aoi Hamazaki but you're more known as Zaki around here. Can you please help us?"

"Enough!" said Zaki. She looks at Akira and says "This is your problem, so you should ask me yourself!"

"You're right," said Akira. "I'm sorry. Can you please us?"

"Hmm…let me test you first to see if you deserve my help," said Zaki. "If you can pass my test, then maybe I will help you. Understand?"

"Yes," said Akira. "I understand."

Zaki takes out her whip-like chain and says "Show me what you got!"

"Alright!" said Akira as she gets into her fighting stance.

Zaki rushes forward to swing her chain at Akira, who quickly dodges the attack. She continues to pursue to Akira, who is forced to retreat for a moment. Finally, Akira dashes under the chain and flips Zaki over her shoulder. Once Zaki gets, she quickly swings her chain around, striking Akira in the face three times. Zaki then uses her chain to tie up Akira's leg and pulls her, causing her to fall. Akira quickly gets up to avoid any kind of follow up attack from Zaki as she once again goes on the offensive. Before Zaki can repeat her attack, Akira dashes forward, grabs Zaki leg and throws her up into the air. Akira then jumps into the air to land punches and kicks on Zaki before they fall to the ground. After she gets up, Zaki lands with a powerful summersault kick that knocks Akira over but she's able to land on her feet. Zaki once again attempts to attack with her chain but Akira quickly dashes forward with a powerful elbow strike to the stomach. The attack visibly effects Zaki, as she takes a few steps back and looks at Akira surprised.

"Impressive!" said Zaki.

"Is that enough?" asked Akira. "Am I qualified?"

"Hmm…you are indeed Daigo Kazama's sister. Not bad."

Akira looks in shocked and says "How did you know that? I didn't mention that to you!"

"Hehe! That's why I asked Zaki for help," said Yurika.

"Okay, now let's get going," said Zaki. "We have no time to waste."

**Elsewhere in Japan**

By now, Kuwabara and his friends have finished watching their movie and are now hanging around in the streets.

"You guys were so scared," said Kuwabara. "You guys are going to have nightmares tonight."

"Hey, I watched the whole thing like you did," said Okubo. "I wasn't scared at all."

"Yeah right, Okubo," said Kirishima. "You were looking down when the scary parts happened. I saw you do it."

"That's because you were looking down with him," said Sawamura.

"What…no…I…wasn't!"

Kuwabara laughs while Kirishima looks with embarrassment.

"I guess you can call me the Alpha Male," said Kuwabara as he laughs.

As the four friends are talking, however, they are approached by three imposing teenagers. One is a blonde spikey-haired young man, one has the body of a sumo wrestler, and the other is a massively built man. Kuwabara and his friends can tell that these three are up to no good.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" said the blonde youth as he chews his gum. "Just a bunch of wimps?"

"These guys will be a piece of cake," said the sumo wrestler. "We'll make quick work of them."

"Who are these guys?" asked Okubo.

"I don't know but they look like just a bunch of punks," said Kuwabara. "They must don't know who we are."

"Allow me to introduce myself," said the blonde fighter. "My name is Edge."

"I am Gan," said the sumo wrestler.

"And this is our boss Daigo," said Edge. "We come from Gedo High School."

"Gedo High School?" said Kirishima.

"That's where all the bad kids go," said Sawamura.

"So, what do you guys want with us?" asked Kuwabara. "Just to let you know, we're the wrong group of people to pick a fight with."

"That almost sounds convincing," said Edge. "Let's see if that's enough to change our boss's mind. Boss?"

"Crush them!" said Daigo. Kuwabara and his gang get ready to fight.

"Ha! Well you heard that, guys!" said Gan. "Get ready to cry!"

"Four against three," said Okubo to his friends. "We got this. Right guys?"

Kuwabara is not too sure, however. He can sense the spirit energy coming from their opponents, especially from Daigo, who is the strongest of the group.

Gan steps forward, saying "I can take you all on by myself." With his massive size, he is convincingly imposing figure.

Nevertheless, Kirishima and Sawamura charge toward Gan, hitting him in the stomach. However, Gan laughs at the punches, catches them their heads in each hand, and slams them together. He then uses his stomach to send them flying back, before bringing his entire weight on them while they lay on the ground.

Kuwabara and Okubo attempt to attack Gan but is interrupted by Edge, who throws a knife at Okubo. However, Kuwabara with great speed, catches the knife right before it hits Okubo. This impresses Daigo.

"That's enough, you guys!" said Kuwabara. "You're going too far with all these dirty tricks you're pulling. So now, I'm going to stop this all on my own!"

Edge laughs, saying "What? You think you can defeat us all by yourself? Fighting with your friends is the only chance you have."

"Kuwabara…are you sure about this?" asked Okubo.

Gan finally sits up off of Sawamura and Kirishima. "Well, you got some guts. I'll give you that."

"Yeah and I can easily say the same about you," said Kuwabara. "Because that's exactly what I'm going for."

"Yeah right," said Gan. "Give me your best shot."

Edge looks with a smirk while Daigo looks in curiosity. He senses that Kuwabara may be different from the others.

"Here it comes!" yells Kuwabara as he runs forward, landing a very hard punch to Gan's stomach. This punch has an effect on Gan, leaving him grimacing in pain. This surprises Edge.

"Yes, Kuwabara!" said Okubo. "Teach those guys a lesson!"

"Why you little…!" said Gan. "I'm going to make you pay for that!" Edge is prepared to jump in, with knives in hand.

"Just like I thought; a bunch of cowards who can't win a one-on-one fight," said Kuwabara. This angers Gan and Edge even more. "Maybe you should make it three-on-one since none of you man enough to fight me on your own."

"You're digging yourself into a huge grave, buddy," said Edge.

However, Daigo steps forward, moving aside Gan and Edge.

"Boss?" said Edge.

"Daigo?" said Gan.

"Fine," said Daigo. "If you really do want a one-on-one fight, then so be it. Just you and me."

Okubo whispers to the injured Kirishima and Sawamura, saying "Wow! This guy kind of gives me the creeps."

"Yeah, I gotta admit, what I just went through with that big guy probably would have been even worse with this one," said Sawamura.

"Alright, let's go, Daigo!" said Kuwabara. "No dirty tricks from your friends. We're gonna settle this like men."

Daigo pops knuckles as he waits for Kuwabara to make a move.

'Here goes!" says Kuwabara, as he charges forward with a punch to Daigo's body. However, Daigo doesn't flinch, much to Kuwabara's surprise. Kuwabara lands more hits but none of them are fazing Daigo, whose body is like solid steel.

"I took your best," said Daigo. "Now let's see if you can take mine."

He then lands a powerful punch that knocks Kuwabara on his back. As he gets up, he's simply stunned at how durable Daigo is. His friends look in fear.

"It's going to take more than that to beat me, pal!" said Kuwabara. This gives hope to his friends but in reality, Kuwabara has doubts about his chances of winning.

"This guy is bluffing," said Edge. "I can see it in his face."

"That's the face of everybody who has ever messed with Daigo," said Gan.

Kuwabara walks up and says "If you think I'm bluffing, then come on and punch me again! I dare you!"

"You're either brave or you're foolish, but I'll grant you your wish either way," said Daigo, as he throws another punch. However, Kuwabara dodges out of the way and lands a punch to Daigo's face, sending him a few steps backwards.

"Wow! Good one, Kuwabara!" said Okubo. Edge and Gan are surprised at what they see.

"Impressive," said Daigo. "You still have enough strength to hit me after all. Now it's time to fight for real."

"What?" said Kuwabara. "This has been real this whole time. Sounds like you're just blubbering nonsense, buddy."

"You're mistaken; I haven't even started yet," said Daigo. "Your fighting spirit is very strong and much different from your friends. Your punches made sure of that. So now I know that I won't need to hold back against you. I'm ready to get serious."

"Yeah, you're tough yourself. Usually, when I hit people like that, they just fall down. Guess I'm just going to have to take you seriously too."

"Then show me what you got!" said Daigo

Although Kuwabara considers using his Spirit Sword, he decides not to use it in front of his friends and also wants to see how well he can do without it.

"Fine with me!" said Kuwabara, as he rushes forward with a powerful punch. However, it's merely blocked by Daigo. He attempts to land more punches but they're all avoided by Daigo, who displays great defense.

Daigo attempts a powerful punch that just barely misses Kuwabara's face. The force of the punch can be felt by Kuwabara without even landing. He attempts to counter with a punch of his own but his fist in caught in Daigo's grip, who begins squeezing it. As Kuwabara grimaces in pain, Daigo lands a powerful punch to the chest that send Kuwabara flying backwards. Before he can get up good, he sees Daigo descending from the sky in an attempt to land a punch but quickly moves out of the way. The punch leaves a dent on the concrete ground. Kuwabara manages to land another punch of his own to Daigo's face, sending him a few more steps away. Despite bleeding from the mouth, Daigo appears unfazed.

Kuwabara, however, believes that he's starting to win. He quickly rushes forward, only to be hit with a combination of three kicks, with the last kick hitting him in the chest, which sends him flying backwards, landing on his back once again.

"Alright! Now I'm mad!" said Kuwabara.

Daigo walks up and says "Just so you know, you're free to give up and run now, along with your friends. If this is all you got, then you simply can't beat me."

"Shut up, Daigo!" said Kuwabara as he gets up. "You think you're somebody to run from? I've fought against guys that are much worse than you and beat'em too. You don't even compare to them."

"Such brave words," said Daigo. "Now let's see if you can back them up. Fight me just like you fought against those other opponents you just mentioned."

"Kuwabara?" said Okubo. "Your legs don't look good. Maybe you should call it…" However, Kuwabara charges forward as his friends screams his name to stop him.

Edge and Gan stand ready to see what Kuwabara has left to offer he throws punches at Daigo. But none of his punches land and eventually, Daigo catches Kuwabara's hand again.

"Pathetic," said Daigo. He lands a hard punch to Kuwabara's body, which leaves him stunned. "Now let's finish this," said Daigo as he pops his knuckles and neck. He lands a combination of nine hits before ending with a powerful punch to the chest that knocks Kuwabara down once again.

The fight is over.

As Kuwabara struggles to get up, his friends, seeing him badly hurt, rush to his aid.

"Kuwabara, that's enough," said Okubo. "You don't need to fight anymore."

"Yeah, man," said Sawamura. "It's not worth it."

"Come on, Kuwabara," said Kirishima.

"Who would have thought that somebody like him could last against Daigo?" asked Edge.

"That kid got some guts," said Gan. "I gotta give him credit for that."

"The fight is over, Kuwabara," said Daigo. "You lost. The next time we cross paths, don't even bother challenging me again. You cannot defeat me."

Daigo walks off along with Edge and Gan, leaving Kuwabara angry in his defeat.

"Don't listen to them, Kuwabara," said Okubo. "They're going to get a taste of their own medicine one day."

Kuwabara is so disappointed and angry at himself that he walks away from his friends.

"Hey, wait for us!" said Sawamura.

"Don't follow me!" yelled Kuwabara. "There's no excuse for what just happened! I shouldn't have lost! And because I lost, I don't want any of you to see me like this right now! This is something I can only deal with myself! You handle things your own way, got it?" He then walks off in anger.

"Wow!' said Okubo. "I've never seen him like this before. Not even when he loses to Urameshi."

As he walks the streets, Kuwabara begins to think really hard about his fight with Daigo, as well as his words. This is the first time Kuwabara has ever lost any other schoolboy outside of Yusuke and for him, this represents a major failure in the way he sees himself.

"I'll get you back for this, Daigo," said Kuwabara to himself. "I promise I'll get you back for this!"

To Be Continued


	5. History Lesson

**History Lesson**

School students are under attack from the most unexpected people. One of these is people is said to be 17-year-old Batsu Ichimonji of Taiyo High School, who had a brief scuffle with Yusuke Urameshi. The other person is Daigo Kazama, high school student of Gedo High School, who led brutal assault against Kuwabara and his friends. Despite his best efforts, Kuwabara was unable to win against Daigo, leaving him to reflect very hardly on his defeat.

During the time of Kuwabara's fight against Daigo, Yusuke and Botan finally took the opportunity to learn more about the spirit of Imawano from Koenma after finally stopping on a sidewalk.

"Koenma, can you hear me?" asked Botan as she looks on her communication mirror.

"Yes, Botan, and I can now see you too," said Koenma. "And I want Yusuke to listen to this too because this is his fault for making me wait!"

"Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever," said Yusuke. "Just go ahead and tell us what you wanted to say and make it quick. You can get to the crybaby part later."

"Well, if you hadn't been so hard-headed in the first place, there wouldn't be a 'crybaby part'!" yelled Koema before his clears his throat. "Okay, listen up. I didn't get a chance to explain everything because things were happening so fast. But now it's time that you know about what you're up against. The full name of the spirit is Mugen Imawano. Years ago, Mugen was the leader of a ninja clan of assassins whose ambition was to rule Japan. Another member of that clan was his younger brother Raizo, who didn't agree with Mugen's plans and soon left the group. Raizo is alive today while Mugen eventually lost his life in a battle. But now he has returned as a spirit and is lurking somewhere in Japan right now with the same ambition, no doubt about it. Yusuke, it is important to stop him because the Imawano clan is a very dangerous group. Those of the Imawano bloodline are naturally gifted fighters."

"Hey, you forget that I beat Toguro, so why are you so worried?" asked Yusuke. "Do you really think this guy is as tough as Toguro or something?"

"Possibly even tougher," said Koenma. "I know you beat Toguro and he was a great opponent but he wasn't the strongest person in the world, Yusuke."

"Well, maybe this guy isn't either. I got a good chance at beating him, don't ya think?"

"Yusuke, you may be stronger than Toguro but don't let that get to your head."

"Yes, I'd be very cautious, Yusuke," said Botan. "It took everything you had to beat Toguro. Mugen could be just as difficult to defeat."

"Well, I know one thing; after everything I've been through so far, a stupid ghost isn't going to be enough to scare me away," said Yusuke.

During the conversation, Yusuke began look around at the school kids who are whispering about him.

"Hey, did you guys hear?" said a schoolboy. "Urameshi fought a kid who he couldn't beat. I think his name was Batsu"

"I heard that kid gave Urameshi one hell of a fight," said another boy. "Never thought that there was another kid out there that was tougher than Urameshi."

"I heard Yusuke lost and ran away from the fight," said a schoolgirl. "I guess that's what happens when you meet your match."

"This Batsu kid has also been attacking schools. No wonder Yusuke couldn't beat him. He's even tougher."

As the kids begins to whisper among each other, Yusuke, hearing their words, grows angrier. This is the first time Yusuke has ever fought against another boy that he couldn't beat and now his reputation has taken major hit because of it. This is also the first time he's heard about Batsu's alleged attack on other schools.

"Alright, that's enough!" yelled Yusuke, which puts all the other kids in silence. "I hear all of your stupid whispering and it really pisses me off! I know all you heard about that Batsu guy but let's get one thing straight here; he didn't beat me up and made me run! I had some other things to do but now I guess I should go back and finish the job just so you guys can finally shut up about it! I better not hear another word about this, otherwise, you guys will be next!"

Yusuke then quickly sprints off.

"Yusuke!" yelled Botan. "I'm not going to chase after you again!"

"That stubborn idiot!" said Koenma. "After everything I told him, he still wants to have this pointless fight with another boy?"

"Guess we have no choice but to find the others and tell them," said Botan. "That's assuming that they haven't ran into any problems of their own."

At that point, Kuwabara sees Botan and walks up to her, surprised that Yusuke is not around.

"Hey, Botan," said Kuwabara.

"Huh? Oh…thank goodness one of them showed up," said Botan.

"Where's Urameshi? Weren't you two looking for that Imawano spirit or something?"

"We were, Kuwabara, but Yusuke got into a fight with another boy named Batsu instead," said Botan.

"Wow, really? Urameshi didn't beat him up too bad, did he?"

"Well…actually, Yusuke didn't even beat him at all. In fact, it was a pretty even fight. Yusuke is so angry about it that he's looking for him to settle it again. I'm not really surprised since Batsu was the one who attacked Keiko."

"What?" said an angry Kuwabara. "Someone attacked Keiko?! And Urameshi didn't beat him up for it? Someone needs to show Urameshi what it's like to fight for your girlfriend!"

Botan can tell that Kuwabara is thinking about Yukina as he says that.

"Hey, Kuwabara!" yells Koenma.

"Huh?" said Kuwabara as he looks at Botan's mirror. "Oh, it's Koenma. I didn't know you were there."

"Listen up here; I've already explained everything to Yusuke about the spirit so you both go find Kurama and Hiei so that I won't have to explain it three more times. Got it?"

"Uh…okay," said Kuwabara.

"Good! Now hurry up and do it," said Koenma as the mirror turns off.

"Well, you heard him, Kuwabara," said Botan. "Let's go find the others. Maybe we should find Kurama first. I'm sure he has suspected something by now."

Before he follows her, Kuwabara stands and thinks for a second. Kuwabara himself has come up short in every single fight against Yusuke, so this news has interest him just as much as the other schoolkids who know about him.

"There's really another kid out there that even Urameshi couldn't beat?" Kuwabara thought. "Now _I'm_ curious."

**Aoharu Station Square**

Elsewhere, the three girls from Seijyun High School, Akira, Yurika, and Zaki, continue to search for answers about the behavior of Akira's brother Daigo. They had already gone to Daigo's school Gedo High but couldn't find him or his friends. So far, they haven't gotten any clues for his strange attacks on other students.

Finally, they decided to stop and talk on the sidewalk for a little while.

"I just don't understand," said Akira. "Where could my brother be? And how come nobody knows what's going on?"

"What a waste of effort!" said Zaki. "We went all the way to his school only to find out that he's not there."

"Maybe some students could be hanging out here," said Yurika. "I'm sure at least one of them know something."

"Even so, do you think they would say anything?" asked Akira.

"We'll just have to find out and if they do know something, we'll have to make them talk," said Zaki.

At that moment, they're approached by two people. One of them is a familiar face to Akira since it appears to be one of her friends. The other is black haired girl carrying a tennis racket.

"Hey, it's Batsu!" said Akira. "And he's got some girl with him."

"Akira!" he said. "There you are! I was hoping I could find you."

"Really? What is it that you want?"

"Well, Akira…I came simply for THIS!" He then raises his fist and hits Akira in the face, knocking her down.

"Batsu…why!?" said Akira as Yuriki helps her up.

"Hey, you!" yelled Zaki. "What is your problem!? How dare you attack girl like that!?" She then takes out her chain and attempts to attack but is hit by a tennis ball.

"Not so fast!" said the girl.

"Little brat!" said Zaki.

"Hey, who are you calling a brat!?" said the girl as he puts her hands on her hips. "My name is Momo. And don't you forget it!"

"Well, Momo, you better stay out of this before you get hurt!"

"Sorry, but I can't do that," said Momo. "That would be boring. Being part of the action so much more fun."

Yurika watches the action speechless. She stands undecided on what to do.

"I thought we were friends, Batsu!" said Akira. "How could you!?"

"I don't need to answer any of you," he said. "All I have to do now is just finish you off!"

Yurika walks up to Akira and says "Akira…" but doesn't say anything else.

"It's okay, Yurika," said Akira. "You don't have to fight. Batsu is…or rather, was my friend, so I will settle this myself."

Yurika slowly backs away but still looks worried.

Without warning, he attacks Akira but this time, she catches his arm and flips over her shoulder. He lands on his on feet but quickly resumes his attack until Zaki catches his leg with her chain.

"What the hell?" he says.

Akira charges forward with a kick to his face, knocking him down. Momo hits Akira with a tennis ball in the back of the head. After seeing this, Zaki runs up to Momo, who tries to hit another tennis at Zaki but misses. She then attempts to hit Zaki with her tennis racket but they're all avoided. Finally, Zaki catches Momo racket with her chain and pulls it out of her hand, before sending her to the ground with a hard punch.

"Stay down, runt!" said Zaki. Momo angrily looks up at her.

"Batsu" gets up and resumes his attack on Akira and the two have a brief exchange, ending with "Batsu" landing a punch and Akira landing a kick.

"Is that all you got?" he said. "How pathetic! I'll just end this right now!" He then raises his arm, forming a red aura around his hands. Akira recognizes the attack as Batsu's Guts Bullet attack. She then forms her own aura as she places her hands infront of her chest.

"Guts Bullet!" yells "Batsu" as he shoots an energy attack towards Akira.

"Energy Focus Cluster!" yells Akira, as she unleashes a large purple energy from her hands, canceling out the Guts Bullet.

Before they can resume their attacks, they hear Yurika's voice causes a halt to all of the fighting.

"Please stop it!" she yells. This gets everybody's attention. "We just want to find Akira's brother. That's all we want. Please, let's stop this fighting!"

There's a long pause as Akira looks at Yurika while "Batsu" smirks.

"Fine," he says. "That's enough for now anyway. I'll spare your lives for now…until the next time." He then gestures for Momo as they both flee the area.

"It's not over yet, you losers." said Momo. "Next time, it will be very bad for you." She then runs off with "Batsu".

"What is going on?" said Akira. "First my brother, and now Batsu. What is happening to everybody? And...who was that girl he was with?"

"Akira, we must continue to find answer," said Yurika. "We can't just stay here."

"You're right, Yurika. Maybe we must push harder, no matter what. For the sake of my brother."

"Then let's go!" said Zaki. "We can't give up. And if anyone stands in our way, we'll show them no mercy."

To Be Continued.


	6. Who is Responsible?

**Who Is Responsible?**

The hot-blooded schoolboy who claims to be Batsu has just attacked Akira, Zaki, and Yurika. With him is a mysterious young girl name Momo. This just adds more to the mystery behind these recent incidents that has happened so far.

Elsewhere, while Yusuke has once again abandoned his mission to find Batsu, Kuwabara and Botan look for Kurama and Hiei.

Kurama has just left a long afterschool meeting. As he exits the school, however, he sees his classmates in a confrontation with Daigo, Edge, and Gan outside of the school. The gang had just beaten up one of the students.

"You bully!" said one of the other students. "Leave us alone!"

"What a bunch of nerdy wimps!" said Edge. "If you guys are going to fight, then go ahead and knock yourselves out."

Intimidated by the gang, the students slowly back away out of fear.

"Hehehe! That's what I thought," said Gan.

"You thugs!" said another one of the students. "We're not scared of you! I'll kick your butt myself!"

Before anything else could happen, Kurama finally intervenes. He can sense something strange about Daigo.

"Wait!" said Kurama, getting everyone's attention.

"Shuichi?" said the student, referring to Kurama's human name. Kurama simply walks up to the gang.

"Oh look, it's a pretty boy," said Edge. "Wonder what's he going to do? Lecture us?"

"Or maybe he wants some black and blue to go along with that red?" said Gan as he laughs.

"Shuichi, what are you doing?" said the student. "These guys are tough. You don't have to get involved in this."

"Yes, I do," said Kurama.

"What?" said the student. "Are you serious, Shuichi?" Even the gang looked surprised.

"I'll settle this with these three by myself, away from everyone else here" said Kurama.

This surprises everybody even more.

"Ha! I'm curious to see what this guy is going to do," said Gan.

"Well, what do you say, boss?" asked Edge.

Daigo looks straight into Kurama's eyes, as if he sees something inside of Kurama. "I say we should comply," said Daigo. "I too am curious about what this will lead to."

"Well then, it looks like you got your wish," said Edge. "The boss says he'll allow it. But just don't push your luck, pal. We're not always this nice."

"Hey Shuichi, are you sure about this?" said another one of the students.

"Yes," said Kurama.

They then go to the woods where nobody can disturb them. Kurama can sense something strange coming from Daigo but didn't want to mention it in front of the other students.

"Now that we're isolated from everyone else, tell me, what is the purpose of attacking our school?" asked Kurama.

"Why don't you ask our boss, princess?" said Edge.

"Yeah, Daigo's the one in charge," said Gan. "You can try to get your answers from him."

As Kurama expected, Daigo, the one with such strange power, is the mastermind behind the attack.

"Your friend's spirit energy is much greater than yours," said Kurama. "Therefore, I will only settle this with him. You two had better step aside."

"What?" yelled both Edge and Gan. Even Daigo looked a little paused.

"I am telling you this for your own good," said Kurama as he takes out his rose. "Trust me, you do not want to test me."

Edge and Gan look at each other before busting out a laugh.

"A rose?" asked Edge. "Are we suppose to be scared of that? Give me a break!" He then takes out a knife and says "Let's see what happens when you bring a rose to a knife fight."

"ROSE WHIP!" yells Kurama as his rose changes into a long, spiked whip, surprising all three opponents. "I should warn you that this Rose Whip is much more dangerous than it looks, which is why I am giving you another chance to not get involved."

"Oh, shut up!" said Edge, as he throws the knife at Kurama. However, Kurama easily cuts it to pieces with a fast whip. Edge and Gan are in shocked at what they see.

Edge takes out another knife but before he can make a move, Kurama quickly uses his whip to disarm him, knocking the knife out of his hand. Edge and Gan now look scared at what they're about go up against

"Wow, this guy is a freak!" said Gan.

"The next attack will likely take off your hand," said Kurama. "It is indeed capable of doing that. Would you like to see for yourself?"

Edge and Gan now look hesitant to fight while Daigo stares straight into Kurama's eyes, as if he's looking right into Kurama's soul and can see that he's not like the other students. Kurama does the same thing, as he can sense that Daigo's dark power makes him much different from Edge and Gan but not sure what it is.

"Let's leave," said Daigo. This surprises Edge and Gan.

"Huh?" said Gan. "What's the deal, Daigo?"

"Yeah," said Edge. "Why should we leave? He can't do anything to the three of us."

"If you value your life, you will leave this one alone," said Daigo. "Now!"

Edge and Gan look at each other in confusion. They're not sure why Daigo, who never backs down from any opponent, would suddenly refuse to fight right now. Nevertheless, they don't argue with his order.

"Yeah, boss," said Gan. "Sure, we'll leave." They both leave with Daigo, not sure what's going on.

Kurama remains suspicious of the whole incident. He believes that there are many unanswered questions surrounding Daigo's power and now decides that he will look for the others to inform them about it.

Elsewhere, Kyosuke and Hinata, after searching for Batsu for a while, decide to head back to their school to see if any of the faculty have seen him.

"I don't understand," said Hinata. "Why would Batsu leave us like this and not come back? Do you think he may be in trouble?"

"Maybe," said Kyosuke. "But I'm sure that he can take of himself just fine. I wouldn't worry too much about that."

"Why do people think he's the one attacking everybody?"

"There must be somebody framing Batsu. Perhaps an imposter? That's the only thing I can think of."

At that point, they see somebody running up to them and it's somebody that they quickly have come to recognize.

"Isn't that…Yusuke?" said Hinata.

"He must be looking for Batsu as well," said Kyosuke.

Indeed, Yusuke stops and looks around, as he notices Batsu's friends but doesn't see Batsu himself anywhere around.

"He's gotta be here somewhere!" Yusuke said to himself. "I see his friends here. Maybe they'll start talking." He then walks up to Hinata and Kyosuke, saying "Hey, you two! I know Batsu is your friend, so tell me where the hell is he?"

"We don't know," said Hinata. "We're looking for him too. After you two fought, he left and hasn't been back since."

"Grr! Damn it!" said Yusuke. "Just my luck. Making me run all the way over here for nothing just pisses me off even more. I can't wait to bash his face in when I see him."

"But why are you still upset?" said Hinata. "I'm sure you two can settle this another way."

"Another way?" said Yusuke. "He attacked my friend Keiko! There is no other way to settle this."

"Batsu was with us the whole time," said Kyosuke. "It's impossible that he could have attacked your friend."

"Oh, give me a break! Keiko didn't just happen to guess up his name _and_ look. She knows who attacked her. So did Botan."

"We're his friends," said Kyosuke. "We know Batsu wouldn't do that. That's not him. All it means is that somebody must be posing as Batsu and attacked your friend."

"Great, doppleganger," said Yusuke. "As if things couldn't get any more screwed up."

"Besides, Batsu has been through enough already," said Hinata. "He wouldn't bring more trouble on himself like this."

"Wait, 'been through enough already'?" asked Yusuke. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm not sure if you've heard about this already but just a year ago, someone kidnapped Batsu's mother and he had to transfer to our school to find her. The truth is, he doesn't that many friends besides us and the only person he lives with is his mother. I know he may be rough at times but I don't believe he would bring any more trouble to him or anyone else like this. It's the opposite of what he stands for. He believes in fighting for his family and friends."

Yusuke listens to Hinata's story as it paints a different picture of Batsu. As someone with a notorious reputation who also lives with a single mother, he realizes that he and Batsu have more in common than he expected.

"Please believe us," said Hinata. "He had nothing to do with what happened to your friend."

Yusuke looks down at the ground and closes his eyes for a moment to decide what he would do next. He then smiles for a little bit before he looks up.

"Well…I've got something else I have to do now so you two don't have to worry about me," said Yusuke. "But the next time you do see Batsu, tell him that we still have a fight to finish and that he better be ready for when that happens."

He then quickly runs off as Hinata and Kyosuke watches.

"I just don't understand," said Hinata. "Why does he still want to do this?"

"What a guy," said Kyosuke. "It's a shame that he's so determined to fight Batsu. They look like they could be best friends."

"Huh?" said Hinata. "Do you really think so?"

"There's something about him that reminds me of Batsu. They're just so much alike. He must have realized it himself."

"Hmm…hey, maybe you're right. He believes in fighting for his friends too. I guess they do have some things in common."

At that point, they both see someone approaching them from the opposite direction. The person, a female classmate of theirs known only as the Chairperson runs towards them, visibly worried about something.

"Kyosuke, Hinata!" she says as she catches her breath.

"Huh? What's wrong?" asked Hinata.

"Batsu…he's attacking everyone at our school!"

"What?" asked Hinata. "That can't be true!"

"It has to be an imposter!" said Kyosuke. "Batsu would never do anything like this."

"Please, hurry and stop him!" said Chairperson. "Not even the teachers can stop him."

"Alright, let's go!" said Kyosuke, as he, Hinata, and the Chairperson rush to the school.

What could possibly be awaiting them there?

To Be Continued.


	7. Real vs Fake

**Real vs Fake**

Daigo and his gang has led them into a confrontation with Kurama, who senses a dark power coming from Daigo. Now Kurama has begun his own search for answers. Meanwhile, another attack has occurred at Taiyo High School. Could it be Batsu himself? Or an impostor? Kyosuke and Hinata are prepared to find out.

As they, along with the Chairperson, enter the classroom where the attack has occurred, they see the teachers, coaches, and other students lay defeated as the person, who claims to be Batsu, laughs at his fallen opponents.

"So weak!" he said.

"Oh no!" said the Chairperson.

Hinata looks down at the one of the coaches, Hayato, as he struggles to get up. "Hayato…are you okay?"

"Be…be careful!" said the coach Hayato, as he struggles to get up. "That's not Batsu…but he is strong."

"You're…you're the impostor!" said Kyosuke.

"I was just waiting for you guys to show up," said the imposter. "Until then, I thought maybe I'd have a little fun. It was almost a real workout. Almost."

"You pretended to be Batsu and caused so many problems with my friends!" said Hinata. "I'll make you pay for this!"

"Then come on!" said the imposter. "Show me what you got."

He then dashes towards the three students, who dodge out of his way. Chairperson attempts to land a few punches and kicks but they're all avoided and she is knocked down by an uppercut to the chin. Kyosuke then attempts his own attacks to lure the impostor away from the Chairperson.

"Cross Cutter!" yells Kyosuke as he launches two projectiles at the impostor. They successfully hit, knocking him back but he is able to recover just in time to land on his hand and regain his balance.

He then shoots a Guts Bullet at Kyosuke, who barely avoids it. Everyone notices how the attack is just like Batsu's and wonders how this impostor is able to do it.

"Yes, you may have seen this attack from Batsu before but I've got more attacks that you haven't seen yet," said the impostor.

All of a sudden, claws begin to appear around his fingers.

"Those claws…I've seen them before," said Kyosuke.

The impostor then rushes forward toward Kyosuke with great speed, slashing him in the arms and legs, incapacitating him. Kyosuke attempts to retaliate but slash across the chest instead.

"Kyosuke! No!" yelled Hinata. She then runs forward, doing a spinning kick to lure the impostor away from the bleeding Kyosuke. The two have a brief exchange until the imposter lands a punch to Hinata to face, following up with a kick to the stomach, knocking her down.

"Hinata!" yelled the Chaiperson.

The impostor then picks her up and lifts her in the air by the throat.

"This is it!" he said. "Now that you've been defeated, you can work for me now!"

"I'll…never work for you!" said Hinata. "Don't think that just because you beat us means that you have control over us."

"You say that now but you'll soon learn the hard way once this is all over!"

"Let her go!" said Kyosuke.

"Kyosuke…Batsu…!" yells Hinata.

Just as he's about to use his claw to land the fatal blow, a loud scream suddenly catches everyone's attention.

"Super Guts Bullet!" yelled the voice. The impostor is hit with a projectile that causes him to lose his grip.

Everyone looks across the classroom to see that the attack came from none other than Batsu…the real Batsu. Despite already appearing to have been through a battle himself with his school shirt missing, Batsu stands ready to take on his new enemy.

"Batsu, you're here!" said Hinata.

"Sorry I took so long, guys," said Batsu. "But I'll take it from here."

"Not a bad entrance for a loser like you!" said the impostor.

"Looks like we meet again but this time, you don't have to Daigo to do your fighting for you," said Batsu. "So now it's just you!"

"You fool!" said the impostor. "Do you really think I need someone to fight for me? I can defeat you myself, just like I did your friends."

"Bring it on!" said Batsu.

"As you wish!" said the impostor. He then leaps forward toward Batsu, attempting to land punches and kicks but all are blocked. He then attempts to slash Batsu but instead, Batsu counters with an elbow to the impostor's chin, following it up with a fiery punch that sends him flying to the floor.

Everyone is impressed at Batsu's new skills.

The impostor gets up and dashes forward with fast slashing techniques but Batsu evades the attacks and lands a powerful kick to the impostor's back, sending him crashing down again.

The impostor can't believe what he's seeing. "He's stronger than before," he said to himself. "What happened?"

"Batsu, you're doing it!" said Hinata.

"Could he have really improved this much in such a short time?" said Kyosuke.

The impostor starts forming energy in both of his fists for one more attack. Batsu, recognizing the attack, begins to do the same thing.

"Super Guts Bullet" yelled both fighters as they thrust their energy attacks at each other. The energies clash against each other but in the end, Batsu's power overwhelms the impostor's, hitting its target, which knocks him across the room.

Batsu, with his burning aura, stands tall over his impostor. "Had enough? Or do you want some more?"

The impostor, finally realizing the kind of fight he's in, slowly stands up but doesn't attack. "I must say, you surprise, Batsu. While I would like to finish you and your friends off, I have other things to do. So, we'll finish this later. You can count on that!"

The impostor quickly leaves the school.

Now that the fight is over, everyone rejoices in the appearance of Batsu. Hinata especially as she runs to hug her friend.

"Oh, Batsu!" she said. "I'm so happy to see you again. What took you so long?"

"Sorry, guys," said Batsu. "I was just so disappointed with myself that I had to do something. I didn't want you guys to see me like that."

"You've definitely gotten stronger since we last saw you," said Kyosuke. "You even look a little different. Could it be because of your fight with Yusuke?"

"Yes," Batsu replied. "That fight made me realize that I have to get stronger if I want to fight for something. There are many battles where I must fight on my own and I have to be strong enough to do that when that happens."

"Batsu…" said the Hayato as he walks up to the students. The Chairperson runs to aid the coach.

"Teacher…I must apologize for putting you through all this," said Batsu. "It was my fault. I wasn't thinking about how this would effect everybody."

"Don't worry about me," said Hayato. "What matters is that you're back and better than ever. You can take on that fake guy for sure. He may be strong but after what I just saw, you can take him on no doubt. So, go get him!"

"I'll stay here and see to Hayato and everyone else here," said the Chairperson. "I'll also try to clear up everything about you, Batsu. You three better be safe in the meantime."

"Right!" said Batsu. "Thanks a lot. You take care of everything here. We'll going to teach that fake guy a lesson."

"Hey, Batsu," said Kyosuke. "I heard you mention Daigo when you showed up. Does this mean that you've figured out who this impostor is too?"

"Yeah, I have. When I heard his voice, I immediately knew who it was. Those claws were a giveaway too."

"So, who could it be, guys?" asked Hinata.

**Elsewhere in Japan**

During this time, Kurama has met up with Kuwabara and Botan as it gets closer to night time and tells them about the incident that happened at his school. The three meets up on the side of the street to talk about what's going on.

"So, you ran into that Daigo creep too?" asked Kuwabara.

"Yes, and I've noticed there is something quite strange about his spirit energy," said Kurama. "It's powerful but it doesn't seem like he's in a full control of it. There's something else behind."

"Spooky!" said Botan. "

"Wait, so you're saying that that power really isn't all his?" asked Kuwabara. "Do you think maybe he could really be that Imawano spirit that we're looking for?"

"That's certainly possible," said Botan. "Koenma did say that it's not far from us. That means we should be closer to solving this case."

"That doesn't appear to be likely," said Kurama. "If Daigo really was possessed, I would have felt presence of a demon inside of him. His spirit energy appears to be completely human."

"Well, I guess I spoke too soon," said Botan.

"Darn!" said disappointed Kuwabara. "I thought I was on to something."

"Hey, guys! Miss me?" said a familiar voice.

They look up to see Yusuke running towards them.

"Yusuke!" yelled Botan. "You can't just keep running off like this all the time. We have a very important case here"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," said Yusuke. "That's why I came back. Don't worry, we still have time to get this over with."

"Yusuke, from what Botan has said, you've encountered someone who attacked Keiko," said Kurama. "You two had a very even fight. He must have been a very strong opponent."

"Oh yeah, Urameshi!" said Kuwabara. "Did you find him and beat him this time? You can't let someone get away with what they did to your girlfriend."

"Well…" said Yusuke as he closes eyes and smiles a little bit. "…I think I'll put that aside for now."

"WHAT?" yelled both Botan and Kuwabara.

"Hey, Botan was right; maybe there won't be another time to settle this if we don't get this over with. So, we might as well do that, right guys?"

"Okay, something is up with you," said Kuwabara. "You fought this kid because he hurt Keiko and not only did you not beat the living daylights out of him but you let him get away with it too? Either that you've gotten too soft since you fought Toguro and this kid knocked some screws loose when you fought him."

"And what about you, Kuwabara?" said Botan. "You weren't able to beat Daigo after he attacked your friends."

"Umm…" said Kuwabara as looks in embarrassment.

"What? You mean to tell me that even Kuwabara couldn't beat another kid either?" said Yusuke. "Well good to know I'm not the only one on this."

"Too bad it says nothing about the most important thing, which is find this spirit," said Botan.

"On the contrary, it may have said a lot," said Kurama.

"What?" said Yusuke, as he and everyone look at Kurama. "Are you serious?"

"I've been trying to make sense of all this the whole time," said Botan. "Do you believe you've made the connections, Kurama?"

"Think about it; the spirit of Mugen Imawano appears. Not long after that, these mysterious attacks start happening at these schools. One of these attackers happen to know Yusuke. The other one had a strange power that he doesn't seem to be in control of. I wouldn't rule out the possibility these incidents are connected to appearance of Mugen somehow"

"And just to add to that, Batsu's friends told me that the guy that hurt Keiko wasn't even him," said Yusuke.

"What? That's impossible!" said Botan. "I'm certain that it was him who attacked Keiko. He even said that his name was Batsu."

At that moment, Botan began to think back at the two times where she saw Batsu and his imposter. "Now coming to think of it, it is strange that he would ask for you to meet with him and then not even know who you are when you did."

"So…that means that the guy that Urameshi fought really wasn't the one who hurt Keiko?" asked Kuwabara. "This is getting really weird."

"So, what else is new?" said Yusuke.

"It appears that this is all diversion," said Kurama. "Someone is framing Batsu to have him fight Yusuke. Meanwhile, Daigo has been attacking everyone. From of the looks of everything, I would say that this is to cover up a bigger plot that unfolding away from our eyes. So, our first step is to unmask this impostor and get all of our answers from him. We can see if this leads to what we're looking for after that."

As Yusuke looks around, he has one more thought in mind that everyone else already had.

"Hey, how come Hiei isn't here right now?"

"Ah…that's the other problem we're having right now," said Botan.

**In the Woods**

In an unknown woods area, there gather four people. One of them is the fake Batsu as he discusses his plans with Daigo, Momo, and, surprisingly, Hyo, who an opponent of his earlier this day.

"It seems that my plan has ran into some problems," said the impostor. "But it doesn't really matter. No one will be able to stop us. Soon, everyone will fall to our hands."

"Right!" said Momo. "This school war is going to be so fun. I can't wait!"

"Yes, and once everyone has taken each other out, they will be too powerless to do anything to us. I can't wait to see their faces once they know our real plan."

Daigo clutches his fist while Hyo tilts his sword as if they're read for battle.

Unbeknownst to them, a dark figure stands on top of trees, quietly observing them and their discussion. This figure has been here the whole time, even before they appeared.

As he quietly watches, Hiei senses something strange coming from where the four is standing but is unsure exactly who it's coming from.

"Could it really be one of those humans?" Hiei says to himself.

To Be Continued


	8. Road to War

**Road to War**

Batsu has appeared to fight alongside his friends once again and now he's ready to finish to the battle with his imposter.

Elsewhere, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Botan have finally met up with Kurama, leaving only Hiei the last one to be found. But has Hiei discovered that the others haven't yet? And how does it connect to what has happened so far?

Meanwhile, Daigo's gang, Edge and Gan, walk down the street in confusion. For the first time today, they're not with their boss and are very concerned with what's going on with him.

"I don't get it," said Edge. "Who was that girl he was talking to?"

"Beats me," said Gan. "I've never known Daigo to take orders from anybody. Now here's this little girl who's telling him to do these wild things? Something's up, man."

"I think we need to find Akira. I wonder if she knows what's wrong with her brother."

Suddenly, they hear a familiar voice yelling "Hey, it's Daigo's cronies!". They look up and see Kuwabara, along with Yusuke, Botan, and Kurama.

"Hey…it's you again!" said Edge. "And that freak too!"

Kuwabara, with Yusuke following him, walks up to the two gang members, who knows that this might lead to a fight. With Daigo not with them at the moment, the two knows this could be tougher than before.

"Alright guys, where's Daigo?" asked Kuwabara. "No funny business. Just tell us where he is and don't waste our time."

"And what are you going to do if we don't?" said Edge as he pulls out his knife.

"Yeah, you think you can just make demands like that?" asked Gan. "You forgot who we are!"

"Don't even start!" said Kuwabara. "You guys are nothing without Daigo and you know it."

"You're nothing without your whole gang," said Edge. "Bring as many as you want with you. It won't matter."

Yusuke steps up beside Kuwabara, saying "Nah! Let's make it even. Two-on-two. Trust me, that's all it's going to take. Anything more than that will just be too unfair, don't ya think?"

"What a cocky loser!" said Gan. "Too bad you have to learn the hard way."

"Yeah, this'll be a piece of cake," said Edge.

Botan quietly walks behind Yusuke and Kuwabara. The original plan was to find the fake Batsu and this fight might delay their plan, knowing that they may not have much time to find spirit of Imawano.

"We should be looking for the fake Batsu, remember?" said Botan. "We don't want to waste too much time. This mission is very important."

"Yeah but if Daigo is connected to any of this, then maybe could be a good lead…and he's not here with his friends," said Yusuke. "So, something must be up."

"Plus, I don't mind getting my hands on these two punks right now anyway," said Kuwabara. "Just stand back. This might get crazy."

Botan backs away but not without a final warning. "Make it quick!"

Gan runs towards Yusuke, attempting to land a series of open palm hits. Yusuke blocks the hit but the force of hits sends him flying back. He manages to land on his feet before he sees Gan charging towards. Yusuke quickly counters with a combination of punches to Gan's body. The speed and power of these shots brings him to his knees. Edge throws at knife at Yusuke, who catches it with his fingers. Kuwabara then takes the opportunity a land a hard, solid punch to Edge's face, who manages to land on his feet after that. Angered, Edge takes out six knives and throws them at Yusuke and Kuwabara. Yusuke, much to everyone's shock, manages to catch all three of them between his fingers.

"No!" said Edge. "I will not lose like this!" He then takes out another knife and quickly runs towards the duo, slashing at them but misses each strike. Kuwabara catches his hand and lands a powerful punch to the body, then another one to the chin, knocking Edge down.

"Now what were you guys saying about cocky losers?" said Yusuke.

"Yeah, I bet you wish you had Daigo with you now," said Kuwabara.

Feeling defeated, Edge slowly gets up, realizing that there's no point in continuing this fight.

Suddenly he hears a familiar voice.

"EDGE!" yelled a female voice. As he turns around, he sees Akira, along with Yurika and Zaki approaching them.

"Akira?" said Edge.

"There she is!" said Gan as he walks up besides Edge.

"Edge…Gan?" asked Akira. "What's going on? And where is Daigo?"

The two delinquents look at each other for a moment, as if to wait to see who was going to talk first.

"Let's not talk around here, Akira," said Edge.

"Yeah right!" said Kuwabara. "We're looking for Daigo too, so whatever you gotta say, say it right now!"

"That's too bad!" said Edge. "Because that's none of your…."

"Wait, you're looking for my brother too?" asked Akira.

"Wha…? Your brother?" asked Kuwabara.

The others look around each other, as they know very little about Daigo or his family.

"What is going on here, Edge?" asked Akira. "It has to do with my brother, then you must tell me."

Both Edge and Gan take a deep breath as they look at the ground for a moment.

"Okay, I didn't want to say this because I don't know what this all means," said Edge. "But our boss has been acting strange lately. We never question his orders to attack anybody. We just do them because he said so. But just now, we did witness our boss talking to some girl at the park. I don't know who she was but she was a small girl with a tennis racket. It sounded like he was taking orders from her. She asked about the all of the attacks that's happened now. That's where we last saw him."

"A girl with a tennis racket?" asked Akira. "Who could she be?"

"Wait a minute!" said Zaki. "That girl was Momo! She was with Batsu when he attacked us."

"Batsu?" asked Botan. "You mean he attacked you too?"

"Remember that there's an imposter," Kurama says quietly to Botan.

"Oh…that's right," said Botas she covers her mouth in embarrassment.

"You know Batsu too?" asked Akira.

Zaki takes out her whip and swings it around. It almost looks as if she's ready to fight.

"That jerk attacked us for no reason and now he has to pay!" said Zaki. "Where is he?"

"Wait, now hold on second!" said Yusuke. "I think we'd rather find Daigo first. We can deal with Batsu later."

Without warning, Zaki lashes out at the group with her whip, saying "You will talk NOW!"

However, Kurama uses his own whip to catch Zaki's, in which both whips are tangled.

"What the...?" said Zaki.

"We will discuss this later," said Kurama. "Right now, we have more important things to worry about."

"You'd better shut up!" said Zaki.

"Are all high school girls this crazy or something?" asked Kuwabara.

Suddenly, they hear the voice of somebody running to them in a panic.

"Kuwabara!" yelled Okubo. "I'm so glad I find you! I didn't know where you were."

"Hey, what's going on, Okubo?" asked Kuwabara. "Where are the others?"

"What's what I'm coming to tell you. We all got our butts kicked by Daigo."

"By Daigo!?" said Kuwabara.

"My brother?" said Akira.

"Yeah, Daigo, some guy name Batsu, a girl with a tennis racket, and some other guy with a sword" said Okubo. "They're all kicking our butts. We wanted to get revenge for what they did to you but they're just too tough for us."

"Oh no!" said the usually quiet Yurika.

"Take us to where they are! Hurry!" said Kuwabara.

**Mountain Area**

In a mountain area, Kuwabara's friends lay beaten on the ground. The menacing Batsu imposter laughs as he stands over his fallen opponents. Next to him is Daigo, Momo, and Hyo at his side.

"How foolish of all of you to oppose us," said the imposter. "Your attempts at trying to avenge your friend's defeat was pathetic. Now you will be working for me and I would like you all to learn your place."

"I don't think so, pal!" yelled Kuwabara, as he and the rest group approach the four. "You messed with the wrong group of friends and now you're going to pay for it."

The imposter laughs at his opponents. While he recognizes Botan, Akira, Zaki, and Yurika, this is his first encounter with Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama.

"Well what do we have here?" he said. "A whole group of enemies that will soon be working for me."

Yusuke and the Batsu imposter eyes lock on to each other. The time has finally come for Yusuke to avenge Keiko, as he confronts her true attacker for the first time.

To Be Continued


End file.
